Ruminations on the Internet, Technology, and Interesting Trends around the globe.

Arts

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

One can't be too sure about most things these days, but one thing that is almost a sure thing is that the query "#TBRB" is going to be one of the top trending topics on Twitter within a day or two of September 9th. TBRB, as Dan Neil of the LA Times explains, stands for "The Beatles: Rock Band", and

"... will consume much of the industry's
advertising bandwidth this summer ahead of its Sept. 9 release. A
collaboration between MTV Games' Harmonix and the Beatles' Apple Corps
Ltd., TBRB -- which had its press debut at the E3 gaming convention in
Los Angeles this month -- lets players stand in the Beatles' pointy
Italian boots, singing and playing along on peripherals fashioned to
look like Paul McCartney's Hofner bass and Ringo Starr's Ludwig drum
kit. That's coolness measured in Kelvins."

The reason this piece merits a complete read in my view is this description of how the game is introduced to millions who are both familiar, and not too familiar with what made the "Fab Four" so cool:

"Summing up the Beatles' story is no easy task, and yet -- as per the
conventions of video game design -- a summing up of the story, a
reprise of the narrative world, must be built into the game itself.
These mini-movies are called "cinematics," and they usually appear when
the game is booted up. They are also crucial parts of a game's
advertising campaign, amounting to online commercials that air
endlessly and freely on YouTube and Hulu. These films are a rare
instance of meritocracy in advertising art; the better they are, the
more they get watched. For TBRB, Harmonix called on London's
Passion Pictures and director Pete Candeland, who have created one of
the most beautiful and compelling animated sequences I have ever seen,
a pocket masterpiece that in its surrealistic bravura is worthy of
"Sgt. Pepper" and "Yellow Submarine." It's also startling in its
economy, telling the Beatles' saga in 2:45 minutes. Not bad for a video
game."

He goes on to describe in detail how this piece is laid out, and is worth reading even though it may be a bit of a spoiler when we all get to see the clip on YouTube, and when the game is out. Sounds like it's quite a bit of work, and does it's subject ample justice.

Friday, March 27, 2009

One of the last bastions of entertainment may finally be dragging itself slowly but surely, from the real world of live performances on to our TVs and eventually onto the internet. As Variety reports in it's own lingo:

"As legiters seek footholds for old-fashioned live entertainment in the
world of new media, the Metropolitan Opera has struck a profitable
balance between stage and screen -- and theater orgs have begun to take
note.

"The Met: Live in HD," the successful series of live hi-def
cinema transmissions of current Met offerings, continues to expand even
as the company has been forced to downsize some of its programming
ambitions in the current economy.

The growing momentum of the
program -- with more than 1.5 million tickets sold so far this season
-- has caught the eye of legit orgs looking for ways to boost their
brands. Earlier this year, London's National Theater announced a
similar series of live cinema broadcasts clearly modeled on the Met's
pilot program."

The rub to date has not been anything to do with technology or potential receptivity by the market, but business model issues having to do with union contracts. Variety goes on to explain:

"Performer and stagehand unions were initially wary of the "Live in
HD" program as a potential exploitation of its members -- but they
warmed up when a deal was worked out that has union members sharing in
revenues once the broadcast's production costs are recouped.

"It's
a model that works," Gelb says, adding that sales easily outpace the
costs of production and distribution, which average around $1.3 million
per transmission."

And as one might have theorized, the experiment is broadening the audience for live productions:

"Part of the benefit comes in bringing Met fare
to new auds -- a goal shared by an array of Gelb's aud-building
programs, including free dress rehearsals and live telecasts in Times
Square on the season's opening night.

"We've seen it go from the core opera fans to a broadening demographic," says Dan Diamond, VP of Fathom, the National CineMedia
branch that distribs the "Live in HD" series. "It creates a relevance
to younger audiences because it's in a movie theater, and it's more
affordable."

That rising profile, in turn, feeds into box office
at the Opera House itself. Paid attendance, which came in at 76% before
such initiatives began, rose to 88% last season."

Who knows, we may see this trend expand to live theater as well, be it Broadway or Off-Broadway. One of these days the show may yet go on...line. Perchance to Dream.

"The evening sale in Paris surpassed its presale high estimate of $232
million, a reassuring result indicating that the world's billionaires
are willing to compete for blue-chip artworks that they consider a
bargain..."

"...The rousing kick-off marks a dramatic turnabout for a global art market
that's been ailing since last fall. Art sales at the two chief houses,
Sotheby's and Christie's, totaled $10.4 billion last year, down 16.8%
from 2007."

"Slumdog Millionaire may have been thrown bouquets by western critics
and audiences, but brickbats are flying in its direction in India.

Although the film was a big winner at Sunday's Golden Globes and is seen as a frontrunner for the Oscars, Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's
top actor and perhaps one of the most famous faces in the world, has
voiced bitter comments about the movie's portrayal of India.

Writing on his blog,
Bachchan said that "if SM projects India as [a] third-world, dirty,
underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among
nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly
exists and thrives even in the most developed nations."

There has been some debate about the "Indian-ness" of the movie. Slumdog Millionaire was directed by the British film-maker Danny Boyle,
best known for the noir comedy of Trainspotting. The film is based on a
novel, Q&A, by the Indian writer and diplomat Vikas Swarup, and
adapted by Simon Beaufoy, the British screenwriter of The Full Monty.

Bachchan
added that an Indian director making a western-style film might not
meet with the attention lavished on Slumdog Millionaire: "It's just
that the SM idea, authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically
put together by a westerner, gets creative globe recognition. The other
would perhaps not."

It's an interesting point, but in general, a big win for this movie seems to be a big win for Bollywood down the road.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

The gifts have all been opened and heart-felt holidays wishes have been expressed all around.

Of course one
of the most popular gifts everywhere this year has made an appearance in our household, the Guitar Hero World Tour (Wii Edition). As I type this, my sister-in-law (aka "The Doctorette" in the game), is treating us all to a rendition of Steely Dan's "Do it again" , to the crackle of a roaring fire *.

It's one of my favorite all-time songs, and of course I'm not alone in this sentiment.

But it's something familiar heard and seen in a whole different way, on a very special day.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

One of my pleasures this time every year is the Christmas edition of the Economist.

For as long as I can
remember it's a "Special Double" issue, and it's a special treat to read it cover to cover over the Holidays. Besides covering the news and issues of the day, the Economist always has in-depth features on topics one may not always think about, but is immensely interesting once you think about it.

This year's issue, is no exception. I've gone through almost the whole issue, and there are a whole host of "off-the-beaten" articles.

I'll highlight this one titled "Global Warming" as an example. And no, it's not on what you may think it's about. It's on how chilies are becoming popular the world over:

"TASTELESS, colourless, odourless and painful, pure capsaicin is a
curious substance. It does no lasting damage, but the body’s natural
response to even a modest dose (such as that found in a chili pepper)
is self-defence: sweat pours, the pulse quickens, the tongue flinches,
tears may roll. But then something else kicks in: pain relief.

The
bloodstream floods with endorphins—the closest thing to morphine that
the body produces. The result is a high. And the more capsaicin you
ingest, the bigger and better it gets.

Which is why the diet in the rich world is heating up. Hot chilies,
once the preserve of aficionados with exotic tastes for cuisine from
places such as India, Thailand or Mexico, are now a staple ingredient
in everything from ready meals to cocktails.

One reason is that globalisation has raised the rich world’s
tolerance to capsaicin. What may seem unbearably hot to those reared on
the bland diets of Europe or the Anglosphere half a century ago is just
a pleasantly spicy dish to their children and grandchildren, whose
student years were spent scoffing cheap curries or nacho chips with
salsa..."

The whole article is worth reading, as is getting the print edition of the holiday Economist. Enjoy.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

I've been a long time fan of blogger Hugh MacLeod's "back of a business card" cartoons. It's good to see him publish 21 new ones on his blog Gaping Void today. Collectively they seem to reflect the mood of the times, a good bit of group angst.

My three favorites are show below.

I'll start with the one that's been on all our minds for a few years now.

Friday, December 05, 2008

"For more than 13 years, he has been widely regarded as the man who got away with murder.

But this morning, O.J. Simpson was punished for other crimes: last
year’s kidnapping and armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers
at Palace Station.

After hearing a statement of remorse
from Simpson, whose voice quavered as he spoke, District Judge Jackie
Glass imposed a sentence that will keep the former football star behind
bars between nine and 33 years."

It was of course an ironic ending, where a different trial produces a verdict so different than the one expected in the original "Trial of the Century" in 1995.

There was another case, many more years ago, which captured the nation's interest almost as much, where the nation never got the trial that many really wanted.

Directed by Ron Howard
and adapted by Mr. Morgan, the film revisits the televised May 1977
face-off between the toothy British personality David Frost and the
disgraced former president Richard M. Nixon
three years after he left office, trimming their nearly 30-hour
armchair-to-armchair spar into a tidy 122-minute narrative of loss and
redemption that, at least from this ringside seat, would be better
titled “Nixon/Frost.”